A computer system includes a basic input/output system (BIOS) memory that stores the code for the boot sequence the central processing unit (CPU) executes to power-on and initialize the computer components. Typically, the CPU executing the BIOS code initializes certain hardware components, such as the memory, and then spins-up the hard disk drives. After the hard disk drives are operable, the CPU will then load the operating system from one hard disk drive to boot the system. The time taken to boot the system increases as the number of hard disk drives the CPU must spin-up increases.
Mission critical systems have certain requirements, such as maintaining 99.999% availability, also known as the “five nines”. For instance, to comply with the “five nines” requirement over the course of a year, boot time could not take more than 5.25 minutes, i.e., 365 days*24 hours*60 minutes*0.00001 (the downtime allowed per year for a re-boot). If a platform takes too long to boot, then the platform may not be able to maintain the “five nines” operating designation during the performance measurement period.